Satellite Communications News

The EUTELSAT 172B satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL) is in the final stages of preparation at the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse and will be boarded onto a special flight to French Guiana on 20 March. The 3.5 tonne satellite is scheduled for an Ariane launch on 25…

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has successfully completed environmental testing of the U.S. Navy’s third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite. It recently cleared thermal vacuum trials, which validate performance in simulated space conditions, and the satellite is now in final check out. “We are committed to quality, and our rigorous…

All partner nations are now using the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) protected communications satellite system after the United Kingdom connected earlier this year. Four nations will use the Lockheed Martin-produced [NYSE: LMT] satellites for their most important transmissions, from commanders-in-chief to troops in the field. The U.K. connection follows…

The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has completed a series of ground and air demonstrations at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., expanding the adaptability of the Global Hawk system to use an additional Satellite Communications (SATCOM) link to improve the transfer of mission data. At…

The GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system jointly developed by Airports Authority of India, the Indian Space Research Organization and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) has achieved certification level Required Navigation Performance (RNP) 0.1. Civil aircraft in Indian airspace will now have access to more precision navigation data than ever before. The…

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently demonstrated that the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites may help solve communication challenges in the arctic. Now people spread over thousands of square miles could have access to more secure, reliable communications. During company-funded tests, MUOS voice and data signals reached much…

The second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] to provide the US continuous early warning of ballistic missile launches and other tactical intelligence was recently declared operational. The SBIRS GEO-2 satellite received Air Force Space Command Operational Acceptance on Nov. 25,…

The recent delivery of an electronics unit that precisely positions a highly sophisticated suite of antennas for the U.S. Air Force's fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite continued Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) consistent, on-schedule performance building protected communications payloads for the AEHF fleet. The company delivered payloads for the…

Satellite Communications News

The EUTELSAT 172B satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL) is in the final stages of preparation at the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse and will be boarded onto a special flight to French Guiana on 20 March. The 3.5 tonne satellite is scheduled for an Ariane launch on 25 April from the European Spaceport in Kourou.

Lockheed Martin has successfully completed environmental testing of the U.S. Navy’s third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite.
It recently cleared thermal vacuum trials, which validate performance in simulated space conditions, and the satellite is now in final check out.
“We are committed to quality, and our rigorous environmental testing regimen ensures this system is ready for the harsh environments of space,” said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin. “It’s important...

All partner nations are now using the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) protected communications satellite system after the United Kingdom connected earlier this year. Four nations will use the Lockheed Martin-produced satellites for their most important transmissions, from commanders-in-chief to troops in the field.
The U.K. connection follows Canada’s first successful call in May, 2013, and The Netherlands’ initial connection came two months later. Over the past year AEHF facilitated many connections between international...

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) continued its record of shipping Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite payload modules ahead of schedule when the fourth arrived Feb. 11, nearly two months early, at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., AEHF system prime contractor.
Complex phased array and nulling antennas, along with the advanced crosslinks, will be shipped later this year to complete payload delivery a full six months early. The payload module contains the processing, routing and control...

The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has completed a series of ground and air demonstrations at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., expanding the adaptability of the Global Hawk system to use an additional Satellite Communications (SATCOM) link to improve the transfer of mission data.
At the request of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, Northrop Grumman worked with Air Force partners to demonstrate that Global Hawk is compatible with different...

The GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system jointly developed by Airports Authority of India, the Indian Space Research Organization and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) has achieved certification level Required Navigation Performance (RNP) 0.1.
Civil aircraft in Indian airspace will now have access to more precision navigation data than ever before. The GAGAN system is a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) equipped with the most advanced air navigation technology available. The GAGAN system advances safety and improves efficiency...

Lockheed Martin recently demonstrated that the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites may help solve communication challenges in the arctic.
Now people spread over thousands of square miles could have access to more secure, reliable communications. During company-funded tests, MUOS voice and data signals reached much farther north than previously thought, just 30 miles and 0.5 degrees of latitude shy of the North Pole. A team demonstrated Wideband Code Division Multiple Access...

The second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite built by Lockheed Martin to provide the US continuous early warning of ballistic missile launches and other tactical intelligence was recently declared operational.
The SBIRS GEO-2 satellite received Air Force Space Command Operational Acceptance on Nov. 25, just eight months after its March 19 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, with performance that matches, and in some cases exceeds requirements. SBIRS GEO-1...

The recent delivery of an electronics unit that precisely positions a highly sophisticated suite of antennas for the U.S. Air Force's fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite continued Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) consistent, on-schedule performance building protected communications payloads for the AEHF fleet.
The company delivered payloads for the first three Advanced EHF satellites ahead of schedule in 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively, to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., the AEHF prime contractor. Integration...

The Amos 4 telecommunications satellite carrying radio frequency communication equipment, built by Thales Alenia Space under the contract signed with IAI, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., was successfully launched at 02:05 local time, 22:05 of August 31st in Italy, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Payload performance still to be verified during the Payload In-Orbit-Test (IOT) which is planned to start at mid-September 2013.
IAI, as prime contractor for Amos-4, built the satellite on behalf of Spacecom...

Vital public service providers, such as the UK’s emergency services and key Government Departments, will soon have access to a more reliable system of satellite navigation, thanks to the greater level of resilience offered by Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS).
On 1 July 2013, the UK became the first independent EU Member State to achieve live position fixes using the secure PRS signals from the current constellation of Galileo navigation satellites. This was achieved by a...

Key instrument for NOAA/NASA Joint Polar Satellite System to maintain continuity of weather monitoring data. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a contract from NASA to develop a Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 spacecraft. This is the third VIIRS unit Raytheon has been contracted to build.
JPSS is a joint program of NOAA and NASA that provides critical observations to improve the accuracy of weather...

Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that it was selected to provide a multi-mission satellite to Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators. Leveraging SSL’s long-term experience with high-throughput payloads and satellites that serve multiple missions, the satellite will open new markets for Eutelsat for broadcast and broadband services in Brazil and across Latin America.
“Both Eutelsat and SSL have a mission to broaden the world’s ability to communicate through...

QinetiQ and Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL) have partnered to demonstrate a ‘cloud- based’ technology that enables a wide range of high volume, low cost satellite navigation applications using Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS). The solution combines PRS with a ‘cloud’ based approach to provide robust and cost effective satellite navigation Services for Governmental, Critical National Infrastructure, ‘Blue-Light’ and potentially high value commercial applications.
Nigel Davies, Lead of QinetiQ’s Secured Navigation Business, said: “We are very pleased...

Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that it has been selected to study the feasibility of accommodating next-generation U.S. military weather systems on commercial polar orbiting satellites. SSL will examine options for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center to lower its cost to replace the legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, through the use of alternative architectures such as equipping commercial satellites with advanced meteorological sensors.
The six-month study...